Jewelry Brands Shun Traditional Holiday Ads

RAPAPORT... Diamond advertising has well and truly departed fromtraditional styles, this year's holiday commercials suggest. Gone are the daysof the De Beers campaigns targeting men buying a diamond for his fiance.The major retailers have taken a much more experimentalapproach, with Tiffany & Co. creating an eccentric video that featuresactress Zo Kravitz, while Signet Jewelers' brands have focused on experiencesand diverse relationships. Tiffany's new Alice in Wonderland-themedcampaign is generating positive buzz among viewers on YouTube. In the video, Kravitzappears as a Tiffany salesperson drawn from her shift in the store into aquirky world containing an underground Tiffany workshop. It features cameosfrom models Naomi Campbell, Xiao Wen Ju, Karen Elson and Maye Musk, and showcasesthe brand's Paper Flowers and Tiffany True collections, as well as establishedlines such as Tiffany Keys. YouTube users primarily responded positively to the video - whichracked up nearly 8 million views - calling it "brilliant" and "superimpressive." "There's something genius about this," commented YouTube userCrystal Ward. "The contemporary vs. the fantastic. Luxury vs. edge. Allbalanced together." "Yaaaaaasssssssssssssss!" added Johanna Kanae, another user. "Toeverything. This commercial is the stuff!" Instagram users agreed, commending the company on the "absolutetreat" the video was, and for its reinvention, saying it was "an entire newTiffany's, but the same." Facebook users, however, had mixed feedback for the luxury brand'snew offerings. The same video received 138,000 views on that social mediaoutlet, with generally positive commentary. However, users weren't too sure about thecompany's holiday window video, which features a Tiffany robot showing off somebreakdancing moves. "Please bring traditional Tiffany back," wrote Facebook user JonnaMcgrath Rowe. "Your new trashed jewelry is awful and is this a disgrace (sic)ad campaign." Signet subsidiary Kay Jewelers has put out four adsthat take a more modern approach to relationships. One depicts a man askingpermission to marry the woman he loves, and only at the end is it clear thatit's not her father he's talking to. Another video by the brand highlights couples sharingexperiences such as road trips and visits to the movies. View the Kay videos here.Jared, another Signet chain, spotlights the many differenttypes of relationships in which love flourishes in today's diverse society. Itscampaign, "Dare to Be Devoted," zooms in on same-sex couples, biracialrelationships and women proposing to men. Meanwhile, De Beers stuck with its Forevermark campaign fromlast year, and the Tribute collection focused on female self-purchasing. Thecampaign began November 5 and will appear on ABC, NBC and CBS television, aswell as in CBS's and Fox's NFL football coverage each Sunday in December, DeBeers said. Image: Zo Kravitz starring in Tiffany's holiday ad campaign. (Tiffany & Co.)